Demonic Wallpaper

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As promised by Wizards last week, we have taken delivery two special Divine vs Demonic wallpaper Magic Arcana today. As last week was Divine Wallpaper, this week is Demonic Wallpaper. Specifically we have Lord of the Pit and Demonic Tutor, check it out . . .

Lord of the Pit, 4BBB

Creature - Demon

Flying, trample (This creature can't be blocked except by creatures with flying or reach. If this creature would deal enough combat damage to its blockers to destroy them, you may have it deal the rest of its damage to defending player.)
At the beginning of your upkeep, sacrifice a creature other than Lord of the Pit. If you can't, Lord of the Pit deals 7 damage to you.
7 / 7

Demonic Tutor, 1B
Sorcery

Search your library for a card and put that card into your hand. Then shuffle your library.

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Yesterday, there was a lot of talk about a spoiled thumbnail of today's wallpaper offering. Specifically, folks were interested in the Demonic Tutor art. It was fairly obvious that the human in front of the demon was Liliana Vess, Planeswalker but discussion was rather heated as it was pointed out that the appearance was that demon was restraining her . . a planeswalker !

Anywho, I don't follow the story-lines much as I have little to no 'disposable income' but suggest this . . .

Liliana is shown in the art just moment before becomming a full-fledged planeswalker. The demon is inscribing the magical 'demon marks' on her which is visible only when she is 'casting' magic.

Here is a quick clip from the Agents of Artifice novel by Ari Marmell.

" Beneath her breath, her lips barely moving, she began to utter a low, sonorous chant. Across her neck rose an abstract pattern of tattoos that suggested even more elaborate designs farther down her back, as though burned across her skin from the inside out."

Catch you on the flip side my droogies.

MTG Conflux Art

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Have you seen the card-art for Progenitus. h.o.l.y.c.r.@.p ! I just want to say - w0w ! -This is beautiful . . . I am in awe of it. The card art over the last year or so has really improved and Progenitus appears to me as the pinacle of this trend. Shards of Alara card art was great and Conflux promises the same if not better. I also have to say a huge thank-you to the artist Jaime Jones who was commissioned to execute this piece of art.

Anyway - back on track - Let's yatter about Progenitus.

If you do not counter this when it hits the table, your chances of surviving the next several game turns are slim-to-none and Slim just left town (cuz Progenitus scares him too). If this does hit the table, you better hope to have a removal card which does not target Progenitus. If you want to make your opponent cry out in the parking lot at your gaming store, just cast a Cruel Edict when there is no other legal target for your oppoent to select.


The flavour text on Progenitus just sends shivers down my spine . . . 'The Soul of the World has returned'. Something else that would send shivers down my spine - - a player having the ability to effectively and consistently pay Progenitus' crazy MTG Double-Rainbow casting cost.

Lets talk also a moment about "Protection from everything". This means the following:
* Progenitus can't be blocked.
* Progenitus can't be enchanted or equipped.
* Progenitus can't be the target of spells or abilities.
* All damage that would be dealt to Progenitus is prevented.
* Progenitus CAN kick Chuck Norris' butt.
* Progenitus can't get traveler's diarrhea.

When, that took weird turn . . . anywho - back to the new Conflux spoilers.

Master Transmuter . . . This was that shy goth chick in high-school that you were always too nervous to ask out and now you bump into her at a tail-gate party outside the super-duper-dome and she's got etherium all over her . . . she is now officially out of your league.

This card promises to see a lot of play - espcially with huge multi-coloured fatties running willy-nilly all around Alara.

Here is the skinny from WoTC : Returning an artifact you control to its owner's hand is part of the cost of Master Transmuter's activated ability. Paying a cost can't be responded to (with Naturalize, for example). Since Master Transmuter is an artifact, you may return Master Transmuter itself to your hand. If you do, the rest of the ability will still work normally. The artifact card you put into play when the ability resolves may be the same card that you returned to your hand when you paid the cost. If so, it returns to play as a new object with no relation to its previous existence.

Stay tuned for more witless Conflux banter . . . !

Agents of Artifice Preview

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Today on Magic Arcana, we were provided a rare treat to a preview chapter of the Agents of Artifice book to be released on 27th January. This first chapter offered some descriptive scenes involving "pasting a dinner collage" on a road to a bar-fight which sees Liliana Vess kicking some butt.

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We also have two bogies on Conflux spoiler radar. These, just like any other spoilers, are not set in stone and subject to change as the official WoTC Conflux spoilers get underway in another two weeks or so.

Countersquall, UB
Instant (Common)
Counter target non-creature spell. That spell's controller loses 2 life.

Umm . . . w0w ! This appears to be a really decent card and will most likely see inclusion in my 'GhastLord' deck.

Volcanic Fallout, 1RR
Instant (Uncommon)
Volcanic Fallout can't be countered.
Volcanic Fallout deals 2 damage to all creatures and players.

Now this card is just about as 'red' as any Timmy could hope for. It can clear the entire field of most tokens and chump blockers as well as dinging your opponent for 2 damage as well . . . The hideous drawback is that you are going to have to share the pain.

Stay tuned for more MTG goodness.

Unstoppable Christmas

~Sorry . . . nothing really to see here - just a random post.
As Christmas is now descending upon me with full trample, I paused to remember that I did not get you, the loyal Blog Reader a Christmas card yet . . . not to worry - Here it is.

You may realise from this modified piece of art that Treefolk are not particularly fond of Christmas and especially Goblins bearing tree ornaments . . .

Card Name: Unstoppable Ash
Mana Cost: 3Green
Creature — Treefolk Warrior, 5/5
Expansion: Morningtide (Rare) Morningtide
Artist: Brian Snoddy

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Also - just another plug for the upcoming Wizards Novel . . . Interested to see if Jace, Liliana and Tezzeret will play well together.

The next exciting new venture is Agents of Artifice, a novel by Ari Marmell that represents the first of a new series of "planeswalker novels." Agents of Artifice details the rise of Jace Beleren from promising young mage-prodigy to world-hopping planeswalker. Jace can wield the power of his mind like a weapon, but quickly finds that his powers get him embroiled in schemes that surpass everything he knows. The book also features the black-aligned planeswalker Liliana Vess and the artificer-planeswalker (and Esper native!) Tezzeret. And the events in the novel not only tie in with the plot surrounding Alara's shards, but also the fate of other planes you know from Magic's past and locales that we won't visit for years to come. It is truly a planeswalker novel—character-driven, and not tied to any one setting. And it's an excellent kickoff to a new tradition in Magic: The Gathering books. Agents of Artifice releases February 2009 in bookstores and many gaming shops everywhere.

Agents of Artifice

You may recall this previous post about the MTG novel 'Alara Unbroken', by Doug Beyer. If you were not aware, there is another novel titled, "Agents of Artifice: A Planeswalker Novel", by Ari Marmell to be released on February 3, 2009.


Here is the skinny from WoTC marketing . . .

It is the dawn of a new age in the Multiverse. The balance of power is shifting and Agents of Artifice brings readers to the heart of a planeswalker struggle.

In Agents of Artifice, Ari Marmell reimagines planeswalkers, taking fans deeper than ever into the lives of the Multiverse's most powerful beings:

Jace Beleren, the prodigal son, a powerful telepath whose choices now will forever determine his path as a mage;
Liliana Vess, a temptress whose beauty belies a dark secret and even darker associations; and
Tezzeret, leader of an interplanar consortium whose quest for knowledge may be undone by his lust for power.

Follow these characters in their quests for knowledge and power. Will Jace's choices lead him astray of the right path? Will Liliana's past finally catch up with her? Will Tezzeret allow hubris to obscure his vision?